APRIL 3, 2003

The World Championship at 700

The Brazilian Grand Prix will be the 700th FIA Formula 1 World Championship event. The series began on May 13, 1950 with the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, a event attended by King George VI and won by the Alfa Romeo factory driver Giuseppe Farina. The calculation includes 11 Indianapolis 500s (between 1950 and 1960) which were ignored by the European teams but counted for the World Championship nonetheless. The number of races each year has increased dramatically in recent seasons, a fact highlighted by the fact that the race at Interlagos will also be Jordan Grand Prix's 200th event, despite the fact that the team only started in F1 in 1991.